Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Major: A Black Athlete, a White Era, and the Fight to Be the World's Fastest Human Being

Major: A Black Athlete, a White Era, and the Fight to Be the World's Fastest Human Being

Balf, Todd

Paperback

Biographies GeneralAthletesCycling

ISBN10: 0307236595
ISBN13: 9780307236593
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
Published: Jan 27 2009
Pages: 320
Weight: 0.50
Height: 0.67 Width: 5.32 Depth: 8.02
Language: English
The story of a man who transcended the handicaps of race to become America's first African American mega sports celebrity

At the turn of the 20th century, hundreds of lightning-fast racers won the hearts and minds of a bicycling-crazed public. Scientists studied them, newspapers glorified them, and millions of dollars in purse money were awarded to them. Major Taylor aimed to be the fastest of them all.

Taylor's most formidable and ruthless opponent-a man nicknamed the Human Engine was Floyd McFarland. One man was white, one black; one from a storied Virginia family, the other descended from Kentucky slaves; one celebrated as a hero, one trying to secure his spot in a sport he dominated. The only thing they had in common was the desire to be named the fastest man alive. Finally, in 1904, both men headed to Australia for a much-­anticipated title match to decide who would claim the coveted title.

Major is the story of a superstar nobody saw coming, the account of a fierce rivalry that would become an archetypal tale of white versus black in the 20th century, and, most of all, the tale of our nation's first black sports celebrity.

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